Kara's Ketamine Trip, Meta and Tesla Earnings, and the FTC Bans Non-Competes

Kara and Scott discuss the White House Correspondents' Dinner, the FTC accusing Amazon of using disappearing messaging apps to conceal potential evidence, and social media reacting to Gov. Kristi Noem's dog tale. Then, what Microsoft and Alphabet's latest earnings reveal about the Big Tech's AI race. Plus, Paramount's drama continues as CEO Bob Bakish steps down. Finally, our Friend of Pivot is California Forever CEO and Founder, Jan Sramek. Jan explains why he wants to build a new community in Solano County, California, and clears up some of the misconceptions. Follow Jan at @JanSramek. Follow us on Instagram and Threads at @pivotpodcastofficial. Follow us on TikTok at @pivotpodcast. Send us your questions by calling us at 855-51-PIVOT, or at nymag.com/pivot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara and Scott discuss the campus protests, Harvey Weinstein’s conviction being overturned, and… Kara doing ketamine. Meta and Tesla’s Q1 earnings are out, and Scott’s got predictions on earnings to come. Plus, the FTC bans non-competes. Then, a listener question on what the TikTok ban means for the presidential election. Follow us on Instagram and Threads at @pivotpodcastofficial. Follow us on TikTok at @pivotpodcast. Send us your questions by calling us at 855-51-PIVOT, or at nymag.com/pivot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara and Scott discuss Tesla's Cybertruck recall, Sony teaming up with Apollo for a Paramount bid, and Netflix's decision to stop reporting subscriber numbers. Then, the TikTok bill moves closer to becoming a law. Will TikTok's parent company go to court to stop a ban? Plus, is China's decision to crack down on popular messaging apps a retaliatory move? Finally, our Friend of Pivot is Dana Mattioli, the Wall Street Journal's Amazon reporter, and author of the new book, "The Everything War: Amazon’s Ruthless Quest to Own the World and Remake Corporate Power." Dana explains what she learned about Amazon's tactics to stay on top. Follow Dana at @danamattioli. Follow us on Instagram and Threads at @pivotpodcastofficial. Follow us on TikTok at @pivotpodcast. Send us your questions by calling us at 855-51-PIVOT, or at nymag.com/pivot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara and Scott discuss the new plan to fast-track the TikTok ban bill through Congress, the debate over Caitlin Clark's WNBA salary, and Trump Media's questionable move into streaming. Then, Tesla is asking shareholders to reapprove Elon Musk's multi-billion dollar pay package, despite a judge calling it unfair back in January. Will Elon get his way? Plus, NPR and Google are the latest companies to get publicly called out by employees. How should employers handle criticism and pushback from within? Finally, a listener mail question about who really benefits from dual class stocks. Follow us on Instagram and Threads at @pivotpodcastofficial. Follow us on TikTok at @pivotpodcast. Send us your questions by calling us at 855-51-PIVOT, or at nymag.com/pivot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara and Scott discuss Google's efforts to avoid paying for news in California, Barry Diller's plan to revitalize The Daily Beast, and Iran's attack on Israel. Then, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are out with first quarter earnings. Is the future looking bright for big banks? Plus, Donald Trump's hush money trial gets underway in Manhattan. How will this case impact the presidential race? Finally, our Friend of Pivot is Charles Duhigg, writer for the New Yorker and author of the new book, "Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection." Charles explains why listening is such an important component of conversations. Pivot has been nominated for a Webby for Best Business Podcast! Vote here. Follow Charles at @cduhigg Follow us on Instagram and Threads at @pivotpodcastofficial. Follow us on TikTok at @pivotpodcast. Send us your questions by calling us at 855-51-PIVOT, or at nymag.com/pivot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara and Scott discuss Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's showstopping appearance at the White House state dinner, David Chang's chili crunch drama, and Meta facing pushback on its political content restrictions. Then, OpenAI prepares to fight numerous legal battles, but do they have a winning strategy? Plus, Paramount Global's proposed merger with Skydance Media is facing opposition from shareholders. Will the deal go through? Finally, our Friend of Pivot is Isaac Arnsdorf, Washington Post national political reporter, and author of "Finish What We Started: The MAGA Movement's Ground War to End Democracy." Isaac explains why Steve Bannon believes the MAGA movement could "rule for a hundred years." Pivot has been nominated for a Webby for Best Business Podcast! Vote here. Follow Isaac at @iarnsdorf Follow us on Instagram and Threads at @pivotpodcastofficial. Follow us on TikTok at @pivotpodcast. Send us your questions by calling us at 855-51-PIVOT, or at nymag.com/pivot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara and Scott discuss Meta's stock continuing to rise, California businesses challenging Gov. Gavin Newsom on taxes, and Elon Musk's robotaxi announcement. Then, Disney successfully fended off Nelson Peltz in a proxy battle, but where does the company go from here? Plus, could Congress be getting close to actually passing an online privacy bill? Finally, our friend of Pivot is NYU history professor and author of "Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present," Ruth Ben-Ghiat. Ruth explains what the autocrats of the past can teach us about Donald Trump. Follow Ruth at @ruthbenghiat Follow us on Instagram and Threads at @pivotpodcastofficial. Follow us on TikTok at @pivotpodcast. Send us your questions by calling us at 855-51-PIVOT, or at nymag.com/pivot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Crooked Media’s Jon Favreau joins Kara to co-host! They discuss Trump Media’s stock taking a dive, Jon Stewart saying Apple wouldn’t let him interview Lina Khan, and a new bill in California that could give employees the “right to disconnect.” Then, Louie Swisher joins the mix to talk all things about the upcoming presidential election: bad polls for Biden, an abortion vote in Florida, and disinformation. Listen to more from Jon on Pod Save America and Offline, and pre-order Democracy or Else here. Follow us on Instagram and Threads at @pivotpodcastofficial. Follow us on TikTok at @pivotpodcast. Send us your questions by calling us at 855-51-PIVOT, or at nymag.com/pivot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the third and final part of our Future of work series, Kara and Scott chat with Susan Athey, who teaches The Economics of Technology at Stanford Graduate School of Business. They take a deep dive into AI, discussing how it will impact work as we know it, and whether all the doom and gloom is justified. Follow Susan at @Susan_Athey. Follow us on Instagram and Threads at @pivotpodcastofficial. Follow us on TikTok at @pivotpodcast. Send us your questions by calling us at 855-51-PIVOT, or at nymag.com/pivot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara is joined by guest host, Lydia Polgreen, New York Times Opinion columnist and co-host of the "Matter of Opinion" podcast. Kara and Lydia discuss the reactions to Beyonce's "Cowboy Carter" album and the viral essay from The Cut that everyone on social media had thoughts on. Then, was Sam Bankman-Fried's 25-year sentence too harsh, or not harsh enough? Plus, OpenAI's announces a new tool to recreate the human voice, but is it too risky? Finally, our Friend of Pivot is Ari Wallach, futurist and host of PBS's "A Brief History of the Future." Ari explains why the future doesn't have to be all doom and gloom, and what gives him hope for the next generation. Listen to more from Lydia on Matter of Opinion. Follow Ari at @ariw. Follow us on Instagram and Threads at @pivotpodcastofficial. Follow us on TikTok at @pivotpodcast. Send us your questions by calling us at 855-51-PIVOT, or at nymag.com/pivot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices